Six Individuals Detained After 12 Million Euro Heist on Gold Refining Lab in France
Six armed perpetrators using military-grade weapons detonated charges to force entry into a gold treatment facility located in Lyon, slightly injuring five staff members during what is being called the most recent prominent daytime heist to occur in the nation.
The bold operation was carried out on Thursday afternoon, with police forces rapidly detaining the individuals believed responsible and recovering the stolen goods assessed at around €12 million (£10.5M), as stated by authorities.
Five workers of Laboratoires Pourquery sustained minor injuries due to the explosion, and three of them required hospital checks for evaluation, the regional prefecture announced. A total of twenty-eight staff were inside the facility when the perpetrators raided.
The individuals, believed to be career criminals, were arrested soon afterwards in the nearby town of the town of VĂ©nissieux, authorities revealed.
A woman involved involved in the heist was taken into custody as well, a police source indicated.
“Six suspects who employed explosive devices in an attack on a metals processing plant in Lyon were apprehended red-handed,” France's security official declared on social media, praising officers for their “firmness, rapid response and command”.
High-caliber firearms, handguns and detonation devices were likewise seized.
The robbery occurred as authorities on Thursday detained five further people, including a primary suspect, in connection with the recent audacious theft at the Louvre.
Many investigative personnel have been pursuing four robbers who employed a truck with a hydraulic lift and cutting equipment to break into an upper-level exhibition space at the renowned museum on 19 October, making off with ornaments assessed at around 88 million euros.
In a separate high-profile case, burglars recently entered illegally the Natural History Museum in Paris, taking gold specimens worth over $1 million. A 24-year-old Chinese woman was apprehended in the current month in Barcelona in regarding the theft, officials confirmed.
This series of robberies has generated apprehension in France regarding insufficient protection at museums and other institutions housing valuable items.